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· What is the destructive effect of weakness of faith on today’s societies?

· What are the views of Mr. Adnan Oktar about weakness of faith and his suggestions to overcome this problem?

Almighty Allah draws attention to two main points in the Holy Qur'an. One of them is the weakness of faith in people. Allah explains in the Qur'an that the real spiritual disease of the majority of the people is not believing in Allah or not appreciating Him enough:

“If only we could have another chance then we would be among the believers!.” There is certainly a Sign in that, yet most of them are not believers.” (Surat ash-Shu‘ara’, 102-103)

The majority of the people suffer from weakness of faith, and our Lord draws a lot of attention to the importance of faith in the Qur'an:

“They have faith in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the righteous.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 114)

The second point that Allah draws attention in the Qur'an is the Union of Islam. In one verse, our Almighty Lord speaks of the significance of the Union of Islam:

“Allah has promised those of you who have faith and do right actions that He will make them successors in the land as He made those before them successors, and will firmly establish for them their religion with which He is pleased and give them, in place of their fear, security. ‘They worship Me, not associating anything with Me.’ Any who are disbelievers after that, such people are deviators...” (An-Nur, 55)

However, some people plead ignorance of these two important points and claim that the actual point they should be focusing on is the commands of Islam. Yet, knowing everything there is to know about the commands of Islam does not mean that that person has a very strong faith. The commands of Islam include detailed descriptions of prayers, ablution and other religious practices. However, this information is not enough to make a person truly faithful.

It takes a very strong faith to perform religious observations with joy and enthusiasm and solely for the pleasure of Allah and also to enjoy the beauty of faith. A person with such a strong faith will perform his duties with joy and will aim at Islamic Union and communication of the signs leading to faith as much as possible.

Adnan Oktar: When we look at the Qur'an, we see that there are two main points. One is the weakness of faith, the importance of faith, and the second is Union of Islam. It is in every page of the Qur'an. But many people plead ignorance of this fact. They keep on asking me to talk about the ‘commands of Islam’. Ok, let’s say I’m talking about the commands of Islam. Let me give the details of prayer, the ablution. Will you start doing prayer when I explain it? Many imams of the mosques, wouldn’t do prayer if they weren’t paid for it; they are paid to act as an imam in the mosque. If they are not doing it in the mosque, they mostly don’t do it on their own time. Many of those people you’d think to be religious are not actually doing prayer. I saw it with my own eyes, I know it. For example, a mosque imam, let’s say he went on a vacation, -this is true only for some of them, of course not all of them- he doesn’t wake up for the morning prayer, he just sleeps in. He does it in the afternoon, he says ‘he postponed it’. They are very indifferent. Those who are listening to me at the moment must be nodding and accepting my words at the moment. Many people you think would be religious, even famously religious people, barely do their prayers. But a person who enjoys the joy of faith, who has a very deep faith almost as certain as having seen with his own eyes, will perform prayer with enthusiasm and the sole purpose of his life will be Islamic Union and communicating the signs leading to faith, for Allah’s pleasure. Their main goal will be that. To strengthen their faith, miracles of the Qur'an and the miracles of Prophet Mohammed (saas) should be communicated. (4 February 2012 A9 TV)

It was foretold in the hadiths that heresy would prevail in the end of the times

Prophet Mohammed (saas), in his hadiths about the end of the times, speaks about the disbelief and weakness of faith of the people as one of the biggest dangers of the time:

“THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN A PERSON WHO PERSISTS IN HOLDING ON TO HIS FAITH WILL BE LIKE A PERSON WHO IS HOLDING FLAME IN HIS HAND.” Tirmidhî, Fitan,73; Abu Dawud, Malahim,17)

In the hadiths, it is clearly explained that the antichrist will target faith directly, leading to a weakened faith in Muslims. Our Prophet (saas) said that in the end of the times people will largely lose their faith and that such disease will be the biggest affliction in the end of the times:

Hz. Enes (r.a.) relates: "Prophet Mohammed (saas) explains: "Before the judgment day breaks loose, there will be turmoil like the parts of a night. (WHEN THAT HAPPENS) ONE WAKES UP AS A BELIEVER AND SLEEPS AS AN UNBELIEVER AND SLEEPS AS A BELIEVER AND WAKES UP AS AN UNBELIEVER. MANY PEOPLE WILL SELL THEIR RELIGION IN EXCHANGE FOR A VERY LITTLE BIT OF WORLDLY GAIN.” (Tirmizi, Fiten 30, (2196).)

People will live in such times, HOLDING ONTO ONE’S FAITH WILL BE AS DIFFICULT AS HOLDING FLAME IN YOUR HANDS. Because in those days believers (will be subjected to so many insults), they will be valued less than cattle. MANY CANNOT TAKE THIS PRESSURE AND INSULTS. WEAK ONES WILL YIELD AND TRADE THEIR RELIGION FOR A VERY LITTLE AMOUNT OF WOLRDLY GAINS. Nights and days will bring such times, one will wake up and loudly say: ‘Who will sell their religion (faith) to us for a very small amount of worldly pleasure?’ Indeed, he will have many answering his call: "Many will sell their religion for a very small amount of worldly pleasure.”

As can be seen in the above hadiths, our Prophet (saas) does not mention any problems with the knowledge of people about the commands of Islam because the current problems today in the Islamic world, the conflicts, the suffering of people are not happening due to lack of knowledge of commands of Islam. And it would be very wrong for people to think that such a situation results from a lack of education.

The soldiers that are massacring people in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon are all Arabic people that know the Qur'an perfectly well. Many of them were educated about the Qur'an and they have read the Qur'an. If one wishes to learn about the Qur'an or get a copy of the Qur'an, it is more than easy as the Qur'an is very easily accessible, available everywhere in every language. It’s even on the internet. However, reading the Qur'an alone is not enough to make someone believe in Allah. As first believing in Allah very strongly and then fearing Allah as much as possible is the foundation of a strong faith. It is stated as follows in the Qur'an:

“You will not guide blind men from their misguidance. You will not make anyone hear except for those who have faith in Our Signs and so are Muslims.” (Surat ar-Rum, 53)

Adnan Oktar: People are suffering in Israel, Palestine, Syria. Many think that it’s because of the lack of education. All those soldiers killing in Syria know the Qur'an perfectly well. They've read the Qur'an, they know it completely. They were trained in the Qur'an as kids. So it’s not about the commands of Islam. But they have no belief in Allah. It’s very easy to learn the Qur'an, get a copy of the Qur'an. The Qur'an is everywhere. And it’s in every language, it’s on internet too. But reading the Qur'an alone will not make people gain belief in Allah. First they have to believe in Allah, and fear Allah. In the verse, our Lord says: “You can only warn those who act on the Reminder and fear the All-Merciful in the Unseen.” (Surah Ya Seen, 11) When a person doesn’t fear Allah, reading the Qur'an will not have any effect on him. That’s why we focus so much on the signs leading to faith and that’s why we are so influential. But the radicals don’t understand it, so they are trying to stop our efforts. However, as they try to stop us, it’s more publicity for us and we are known even more. (February 4, 2012 A9 TV)

Weakness of Faith is the Main Reason Why the Muslim Societies Are Suffering Today

Real and sincere belief can be achieved only by being deeply attached to Allah and following all His orders unconditionally. One can gain all those admirable human qualities only by following the orders of Allah. Allah in the Qur'an orders righteousness, justice, patience, selflessness, loyalty, tenacity, obedience, modesty, tolerance, compassion, mercy, containing one's anger and many other superior human qualities. The Qur'an also clearly bans all immoral acts. Living by these superior moral values means having fear of Allah and following one's conscience because the more one fears Allah and follows his conscience the more that person will obey the orders of Allah. Otherwise, one cannot go on living by the morality of the Qur'an. Even if he sometimes manages to display some good moral values, he can completely change as soon as something happens that will be against him. Therefore, having a strong faith in Allah is not something very easy to get unless one is sincere. It is explained as follows in the following verse: “The desert Arabs say, ‘We have faith.’ Say: ‘You do not have faith. Say rather, “We have become Muslims,” for faith has not yet entered into your hearts. If you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not undervalue your actions in any way. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Al-Hujurat,14).

Today, the reason behind the problems of the Muslim societies is that they don’t have a sincere faith in Allah. Some of the problems caused by weakness of faith could be listed as follows:

Weakness of Faith is the Reason Why the Muslims are Divided and do not Unite

“Allah loves those who fight in His Way in ranks like well-built walls.” (As-Saff, 4) is the order of Allah in the Qur'an, showing that Muslims should unite. Therefore fighting against any kind of separatism and warning Muslims of this danger is one of the most important duties of Muslims. However, those people who suffer from weakness of faith, and wish to mere be by-standers say ‘I don’t care as long as it doesn’t hurt me’. However such a state of mind is unacceptable. As according to the Qur'an, a Muslim cannot be indifferent to the current divided state of the Muslims, and should not ignore the verses of the Qur'an ordering unity and should not refrain from uniting. The people with weak faith do not really comprehend the verses of the Qur'an, and that’s why they cannot understand that the Islamic Union is an obligation for Muslims just like praying and fasting. They also cannot understand that division is illegal just like eating pork or drinking wine. There is no difference in between two different kinds of illegal actions according to the Qur'an. If the Muslims unite, all these pains and problems in the world will be solved immediately. Allah states the following in a verse:

“Those who are disbelivers are the friends and protectors of one another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in the land and great corruption. (Al-Anfal, 73)

Hostility towards the People of Book is another Outcome of Weakness of Faith

The religion with Allah is Islam. Muslims would like all people to say “LailahailAllah Muhammeden Rasulullah” in other words they want them to be Muslims and work for that purpose. Allah named Jews and Christians as People of the Book in the Qur'an and gave details as to how the relationship between the Muslims and the People of the Book should be like. Starting with the birth of Islam, Muslims have made the utmost efforts to love and respect the People of the Book. After all, the People of the Book, even though parts of their books were altered later, abide by similar moral values and concepts with Muslims which are in essence based on revelation from Allah.

Islam is the religion of peace, love and understanding. However, those people who are suffering from weakness of faith represent Islam in a bad light, both to Muslims and the People of the Book. Islam orders us to make this world a place of ‘peace and well-being’, however these people show Islam as completely the opposite and claim that there is a conflict and war between Muslim and members of other religions. However, Allah orders Muslims to be very compassionate and just towards the Jews and Christians who are called the People of the Book.

Allah ordered Muslims in many verses in the Qur'an that Muslims should befriend the People of the Book. Allah allows Muslims in the Qur'an to eat their food and marry a Christian or a Jewish woman. Allah states the following in a verse:

“Today all good things have been made lawful for you. And the food of those given the Book is also lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. So are chaste women from among the believers and chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who rejects faith, his actions will come to nothing and in the afterlife he will be among the losers.” (Surat al-Ma’ida, 5)

Hostility Amongst the Schools and Bloodshed are the Ideas of People with Weak Faith

One of the most indicative signs of people with weak faith is that they want bloodshed and hostility amongst the schools. The hostility between the Shi'a and the Sunnis stem from hatred in people’s hearts. Those people with such hatred and rage might even say that ‘Alhamdulillah, I am a Sunni, masha'Allah I’m a great Muslim, now for Allah’s pleasure, I am going to slaughter all the Shi'a and I will be rewarded for every Shi'a that I slaughter’, which is completely against the Qur'an. There are Shi'a who have the same crooked state of mind, as well. However, these people are actually atheists, full of hatred, looking for ways to satisfy their needs of rage and they use Islam as an excuse, because a Muslim would never hurt any living thing deliberately. Good, pious, religious Sunnis and Shi'a would have never such thoughts, and they know perfectly well that Muslims fighting each other is illegal and if they do something like that, they will be committing a sin.

Sunnis and Shi'a should continue with their intellectual campaign until Islamic Union is established. Of course there are different schools and different ideas; the important thing is living with love of Allah and engaging in an intellectual campaign so strongly that one is ready to sacrifice his wealth and life for Allah’s pleasure. In one verse, Allah draws attention to the importance of the union amongst Muslims and how Allah will reward them in return:

“Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate. Remember Allah’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire and He rescued you from it. In this way Allah makes His Signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be guided.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 103)

Adnan Oktar: For example, many people harbor a deep hatred for Shi'a or Sunnis; Sunnis hate Shi'a while Shi'a hate the Sunnis. Many people have that problem. Surely, there are millions who are not like that, but it is a fact that there are many who think along these lines . Actually some columnists claim that there will be great sectarian war in the Middle East, and if those people go on with the same state of mind, the scenario is not very far-fetched. But the Mahdi system is preventing that and it will continue to prevent such a thing. No one can plead ignorance of that fact. So it’s wrong for some people to say ‘We’ll just teach them about how to practice Islamic observances and then everything will be okay’. Okay, then try it; there have been religious courses in elementary schools, secondary schools. Terrorists, anarchists, they have all received education about religion. The parents of most PKK terrorists are actually religious people. They know about Islamic practices, they know how to do prayer. They even mock prayer, they try to make fun of it. It’s because they know how to do it, would they be able to have fun with it and copy its moves if they didn’t know anything about it? They know about prayer, down to its slightest details. They know how to fast, charity, all of it. So it’s not about knowing how to practice Islam. They are Darwinists and materialists. You can read the Qur'an to a Darwinist or a materialist all you want, get him to memorize it, teach him the commands of Islam, but that won’t have any effect on him. But it’s very easy when a person has faith in Allah. There are no complicated, complex practices in religion. There is nothing that would require training a person for months on end. The rules, the practices of Islam can be learned only in one day. All of them could be learned by a normal person only in one day, and he can then go on to practice Islam very easily. At the time of the companions, Prophet Mohammed (saas) would meet the pagans and they believed in him. They attended his lectures. After talking to him only one hour, half an hour, they would leave to go to the battlefield, to work for Islam. They went to Spain, to so many different places, after Prophet Mohammed (saas) passed away. They went there with people who had been just introduced to Islam. So new in fact, they could have been Muslims for only one or two hours when they did those great things. There is nothing complicated about Islam. This is why the government should stop trying to make youngsters conservatives; instead of that, it should put an end to Darwinist-Materialist education and spread the signs leading to faith and reinforce people’s faith. After their faith is reinforced, a generation that loves Allah and that fears Allah will develop. You cannot achieve anything by conservatism. The Ottoman Empire was conservative and they came down. Conservatism will not help you. What are you going to conserve? Which faith? Of course, the Prime Minister cannot say this and it’s very normal for him. He can’t say this in a secular system. But as an individual, I can say it. There is no need to be a conservative; there is the need to be a good Muslim. It is about being a good Muslim. The ‘Generation 68’. They are the real uptight ones, they are the real conservative ones. They conserve, preserve everything, down to the slightest details. They even listen to the same music, the songs of those days, nothing changes, everything stays the same, the way they walk, talk, dress, eat. Some cling on to the conservative days of Abdülhamit and some Abdülmecit. That’s of course very wrong. What they should do is, they should be Muslims prescribed by Islam. There is nothing complicated about that. (February 4, 2012 A9 TV)

Hz Mahdi (a.s.), before focusing on the commands of Islam, will focus on the signs leading to faith and by the leave of Allah, will demolish the Darwinist-Materialist state of mind and weakness of faith :

Our Prophet Mohammed (saas) said that Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will work to annihilate materialism, Darwinism and atheism through an intellectual campaign based on the Qur'an, science, wisdom and intellect.

Our Prophet Mohammed (saas) said that Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will intellectually destroy the weakness of faith and lack of faith through science and intellectual means:

In one hadith passed on Ebu Hureyre through Imam Muslum, Prophet Mohammed (saas) said to his companions one day:

“… THESE WARRIORS, WHEN THEY GO TO A CITY, THEY DON’T FIGHT WITH WEAPONS, THEY DON’T USE ARROWS. THEY JUST PRAISE ALLAH BY SAYING LA ILAHA ILLA-LLAH, ALLAHU AKBAR. After this statement, one of the walls of the fortresses on the two sides of the city, will come down. Then they say it the second time. The other wall comes down. At the third time, the walls will come down for the armies of Islam and they will enter through these walls and conquer the city.” (Imam Sharani, Death-Judgement Day –End of the Times and the Portents of the End of the times, p. 445-446)

Bediüzzaman also said that one of the three great duties of Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will be ‘helping people regain their faith by completely hushing the materialist and atheist philosophies’:

One: Under the influence of science and philosophy, and the spread of the materialist and naturalist epidemic into humanity, the first duty [of Hazrat Mahdi (as)] is first of all to save faith as to entirely silence philosophy and materialistic thinking. Since preserving believers from depravity [preventing believers straying from the true path)...(Emirdag Addendum, p. 259)

As can be understood from the hadiths of Prophet Mohammed (saas), and the statements of Bediuzzaman, Hz. Mahdi (a.s.), by the leave of Allah, will ensure that everyone understands Allah’s existence and His names better. He will also save people from the deceptions created by materialism. Also with the technology improving in the end of the times, science will advance greatly, which will prove the existence of Allah through science. Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will tell these truths to people in the most effective way and will achieve worldwide results.

In a verse in the Qur'an, our Almighty Lord draws attention to intellectually destroying the wrong ideas:

“Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through it and it vanishes clean away!...” (Surat al-Anbiya, 18)

As long as one has a strong faith, it’s very easy for that person to practice religion. There are no complicated or difficult practices in religion. Islam is a very easy religion that can be understood by anyone. One wouldn’t need a long time to learn how to perform prayers. The practices in Islam could be learned by a normal person only in one day, and he can then go on to practice Islam very easily. At the time of the companions, Prophet Mohammed (saas) would meet the idolators and talk to them. And they believed in him. They attended his lectures. After talking to Prophet Mohammed (saas) for only one hour, half an hour, they would leave to go to the battlefield, to work for Islam. There is nothing complicated about Islam. This is why the government should stop trying to make youngsters conservatives, instead of that, it should put an end to Darwinist-Materialist education and tell of the signs leading to faith. After the community increases their faith, a generation that loves and fears Allah will rise and the ordeal of the Islamic world will come to an end, by the leave of Allah.

Hz. Mahdi (a.s.), just like as stated by Bediüzzaman, will ‘spread signs leading to faith with books, documentaries’ and help people gain a sincere belief in Allah and abide by the moral values of the Qur'an.

Darwinism and materialism are the most important factors preventing people from gaining faith in the end of the times. Therefore, showing the invalidity of Darwinist and materialist ideologies through scientific methods, and telling of the signs leading to faith, will help people gain faith in Allah, by the leave of Allah.

Signs Leading to Faith Help People Gain Faith

Signs leading to faith are one of the most important reasons helping people gain faith. A person without faith is in deep blindness and he cannot see the evidences of creation around him. Due to the structure of the community he lives in, which is distant to religion, his mind is swamped with the petty details of daily life and his perception has weakened to a degree that he can no longer see the innumerable miracles of creation around him. Such a person, provided he is sincere and follows his heart, might see the existence and oneness of Allah and His infinite knowledge and power and that Allah created everything, living or non-living. Signs leading to faith therefore are crucial in helping those people who have a conscience, but who had been kept away from the truth due to atheistic suggestions.

Drawing attention of those blinded people to the signs leading to faith will help them see many things that they weren’t aware of before, and also help them get rid of the blindness they were previously suffering from. Opening people’s eyes to the miracles of creation , which may have become an usual sight for them, will help them gain a deeper understanding, awaken their conscience and intellectually destroy the atheistic suggestions of the system of disbelief.

The first thing that a person following his conscience will think when he clearly sees the signs leading to faith will be ‘These cannot be the products of coincidences, they couldn’t have come about by coincidences’. They will then come to truly understand the existence of omniscient Allah that created all these and believe in Him. One verse states as follows:

“Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: ‘Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Surah Al Imran,191)

Adnan Oktar: Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will focus on signs leading to faith, before he gets to the commands of Islam

Adnan Oktar: ‘When Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) comes, he won’t focus on the commands of Islam. In other words, he won’t teach people how to take ablution, or the rules of prayer or fasting. Bediuzzaman says Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will focus on the signs leading to faith, the existence and oneness of Allah. ‘The most important aspect is faith. He says that many people think that the most important thing today is sharia and life. So many people stick to superstitions and judge people and criticize them saying things like ‘Why did you shave your beard? Your mustache was supposed to have this shape, whatever’. Or they go on and say that you should pray, and you should pray in exactly this way. He doesn’t believe in Allah and you are talking about how to do prayer right. Or talking about fasting. Or another radical goes up to a man and says to him ‘What are you doing in a mosque, you have never fasted during Ramadan’. Just ask him first, if he has belief. Have you asked? No. Bediuzzaman says “Many people wrongly think that the most important things are life and sharia and therefore if Hz. Mahdi (as) lived now (if he was contemporary with Bediuzzaman), he wouldn’t be able to carry out the three duties because it is not in line with the Adetullah. So probably he will focus on the most important thing first and leave the others.’ So what is he going to do? He will talk about the signs leading to faith 24/7. People will ask Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) how to do prayer, and he will say, 'I don’t have any knowledge of it.' What is he going to say? He will focus on the signs leading to faith, believing in the existence and oneness of Allah, His Books, His prophets, the hereafter, heaven and hell. So he will focus on these, the basis of faith. (A9, on January 1, 2012)